Enjoy a new episode in the Dekmantel Mix Series, published bi-weekly.
http://www.dekmantel.com
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Enjoy a new episode in the Dekmantel Mix Series, published bi-weekly.
http://www.dekmantel.com
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@dannydaze has proven incredibly hard to pin down since he first emerged. After starting down a path that very quickly took him to the best clubs in the world but off the back of a sound that wasn't really his, he has managed to rewrite perceptions. After deciding to do things his own way, at his own pace, he is now known for what he really loves: techno, electro and IDM. Just recently he continued his collaborative work with Brazilian RHR on four dark, gritty and evocative cuts on OmniDisc, and has more music on the way soon on Schematic Records. This mix hints at what to expect from that EP, says Danny. "Due to the current conditions, I decided to go with chill zone session for this one mixed live with a bunch of the styles that influenced me over the last 20 years. Went a bit more trip-hop/IDM/electro with it which points to the direction the upcoming EP and album later in the year. Hope everyone has a nice week." So strap in for two freewheeling hours of interplanetary sonics, churning rhythms and otherworldly cinematics that will start your week right.
In the last couple of years, London's SHERELLE (@iamsherelle)has torn through the dance music world like a tornado. Everything she does is high speed and high impact, from what she mixes to the way she mixes it. Her dizzying mix of footwork, jungle and drum & bass has breathed new life into the 160bpm scene and got people all over Europe in a spin. As well as solo work, she plays as part of the 6 Figure Gang and runs the Hooversound Recordings label with Naina while also championing all things leftfield on her BBC Radio 1 residency. Of course, her 80 minute mix for us is pure fire, a bumping ride through thrilling kick patterns, shimmering toms and drilling bass. It's underpinned with a constant sense of tension that keeps you utterly on the edge of your seat and variously explodes into life, or pulls back to a moment of unsettling calm. It tells the story of a rich history of UK music, but with a fresh perspective that makes it all the more vital.
@garcon rightly considers himself an "expert in mood modulation." He is someone who carefully builds a groove, teasing with snippets, dropping in and out of tunes and drawing out the process of gratification and please. The Swiss man does it as resident at Elysia in Basel, often with a techno foundation but drawing on niches from all over the electronic spectrum. He co-runs the Amenthia Recordings label with Agonis and has said it takes its musical identity from the utilitarian space of his home club. This mix was recorded there last Friday, with CDJs and 1210s, but also a Space Echo that adds extra depth throughout. Starting in a cavernous industrial space from the off, the sound of sonic decay, eerie reverb and slow motion rhythmic automation all provide details that draw you ever deep into this industrial scene. As the drums become more prominent and the tempo hurries, the mood is no less unsettling and deserted. Broken techno, lurching bass and dark dub all feature in this most skilfully restrained yet highly impactful selection.
Robert Witschakowski-Jockel (@the-exaltics) has been a core part of electro's evolution since the late nineties. From early days bringing big names like Jeff Mills and Robert Hood to his hometown of Jena as a promoter, he soon elevated himself to become one of the best acid live acts in the game. Nowadays, he runs his own carefully-curated Solar One Music, has collaborated with Drexciya's Gerald Donald and released his own shadowy electro on Shipwrec, Clone West Coast Series and Crème Organization. He is a hugely prolific artist who is always tweaking and evolving his sound while staying true to his original sci-fi visions. All of that feeds into this week's mix, which is a bumpy, rough riding electro adventure that unfolds with a real sense of narrative. From the icy and high speed launch it quickly moves on to moments of smooth-cruising calm, guides you through solar storms and frantic acid work outs. The texture change, too, from ragged and frazzled to shiny and seductive, but are all stitched together seamlessly by a master of the form.
Planet Euphorique is the name of @d-tiffany’s label, but also a perfect summation of her sound: musically she reworks rave, euphoria, trance, electro, breakbeat and techno into all out emotional onslaughts that get hands in the air and chests swelling with joy. The Canadian - who also runs the xpq? label - has always got things done on her own terms, from running parties in her own house in Vancouver to making dance music with the gear she had previously used as part of a band via setting up her own women-focused Intersessions DJ school. This week she treats us to an extra special two hour selection that will take you to the heart of a rave in your front room. It’s a mix that bristles with life, from dusty and teary-eyed breakbeats that are shrouded in nostalgia to more clipped and kicking techno. The mixing is tight and urgent and after initially serving up plenty of lush moments of melody and IDM introspection, it grows all the more direct and unhinged later on.
New Yorker @acemo is an artist with an intense work rate. In the DJ booth he races through tunes, rhythms and styles with an insatiable sense of energy, and in the studio he is as prolific as they come. He has put out four EPs in the last year that take in jungle updates, battered techno and euphoric bass, and his self-released Existential album in late December came with a more thoughtful and philosophical dimension. This week's mix is a bumping one that hits the ground running. Impassioned and uplifting house soon gets you locked before you rough ride through dusty breakbeats, twisted acid and percussive work outs. Kinetic juke and footwork styles and more fist pumping, brain frying house are all touched upon throughout this most wide-ranging selection and breathless selection, so strap in!
Born and raised in Amsterdam and with his roots in Japan, Masalo (@masalo-music) is an artist who is firmly at the heart of the city’s music scene. He’s active in numerous ways, though his focus lies solidly on DJing and producing, in which he has been turning heads with his open minded approach that takes in music that brims with vitality. The Brighter Days party he runs with Kamma is famously colourful and friendly, like the man himself, and his choice productions have found their home on the Rush Hour label, the imprint he’s closely connected with. For this week’s mix he takes us on a two hour journey to a better place with an electrifying selection of organic dance jams, new wave, spiritual house and big hearted disco that will have you in a spin. The mixing is superbly tight given that the tunes jump around so freely from the old to the new, and it all adds up to a huge injection of escapist positivity that we all need in our lives right now.
@markknekelhuis is a world explorer who brings a love of live instrumentation to his dance music. The Knekelhuis label boss is a staunchly DIY operator who is also the voice of Volition Immanent, a live act along side Dekmantel regular Parrish Smith. He makes music that manages to be deeply personal but also immediate and arresting and that same style defines his radio shows on Red Light Radio. His mix for us is an exploration of deeply hypnotic sounds and dreamy breakbeats to slowly but surely wake you up right at the start of the week. Once you’re in the groove, there is space travelling electro and beautifully delicate melodic techno that continues to sooth your soul as you journey through the cosmos and off to a better place.
@roi_perez is at the beating heart of the queer dance music scene in Europe. His route to the top started with a residency back home in Tel Aviv, but since moving to Berlin 2013 he has gone on to make a wider impact with regular standout sets at fetish club Lab.Oratory and Berghain’s Panorama Bar. His focus is always on buying, playing and selling records rather than making them, so he is an adventurous DJ who is always evolving but is famed for his long, winding, eclectic sets that span multiple sounds and scenes. Even over the course of just an hour in the mix for us this week, he manages to travel far and wide. It's a party starting selection, for sure, with emotive breakbeats next to pumping percussive rhythms, steamy house and jacking acid. The rhythms are always raw and ragged, meaning Perez does a fine job of keeping you on the tips of your toes from start to finish.
rRoxymore’s music exists in the murky territory between house and techno. It is music you can dance to, but that never seems to be its primary intention. Shifting synth sequences bring rhythm, exotic percussion bring worldly feelings and her rugged and deconstructed drum machines bring inventive grooves. The Berlin based French artist herself calls it “mercy-less house” and has put most of it out on Don’t Be Afraid, including her Face to Phase album later last year, which was an album full of intriguing and exploratory sound scapes. In the past, rRoxymore has played percussion in a rock band, played hip hop and rare groove and soundtracked art installations, so she brings that widescreen understanding of groove to this week’s mix. It’s a leftfield selection of humid and tropical rhythms that dangle like vines in a jungle before morphing into broken and syncopated beats with a heavy low end. It’s compelling, stripped back rhythm music that seems to takes cues from UK funky, EBM, disco, techno and plenty more besides.